57
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinWhat begins as a scathing but loving satire of materialism loses its way once it turns into a warmhearted after-school special about a nice young Jewish boy discovering the true meaning of the bar mitzvah.
- 70VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibA sure-fire audience-pleaser, Scott (son of Garry) Marshall's winning comedy bow could have been titled "My Big Fat Jewish Bar Mitzvah."
- 70L.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonL.A. WeeklyChuck WilsonAs director, Scott Marshall displays an unsurprising flair for selling a joke, but also a fine sense of dramatic pacing and, even better, a gift for brevity, neither of which, it could be argued, are innate skills of his famous filmmaking family.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenWhat could have made for particularly potent satire in the hands of an Albert Brooks or a Christopher Guest arrives in the form of a politely benign family comedy by first-time director Scott Marshall.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumMaybe because director Scott Marshall is Garry's son, he allows his affable father to steal the movie from everyone else, and his performance proves to be a small gift worth having.
- 63USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigBlends humor with heart for a satisfying, if predictable, experience.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickA sitcom with enough big laughs and emotional truth to get audiences past awkward pacing and some slow spots.
- 60The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenKeeping Up With the Steins would have been a much better film if it had waited twice as long before retracting its fangs.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanGarry Marshall takes over the movie (no mystery: his son, Scott, directed it), and Keeping Up With the Steins turns into a recipe to forget: chopped liver with ''heart.''
- 38Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneSquanders a decent comic premise.